


Lost Soul

by WildMagic



Series: The Soul [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alpha Liam, Alpha Louis, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Beta Zayn, Bromance, Friendship, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Harry, Omega Niall, Possessive Behavior, Presented, Rut, Slow Build, True Mates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 04:34:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9583832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildMagic/pseuds/WildMagic
Summary: When Louis woke up the next morning, he recognised the scent of a freshly presented Omega. He silently cursed; he was happy for his friend, but knew that some things were going to have to change. And he knew Harry wasn’t going to like it one bit.When Harry presents as an Omega, his whole life is about to change; whether he want's it to or not.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Right, so... I know a tonne of you guys want a LS update! And I've been wanting one for ages too!! (IT'S BEEN NEARLY 2 YEARS SINCE THAT ONE WAS UPDATED!), but honestly, I lost my muse with it and nothing I was writing was right or took the story where I wanted it to go. I also had certain things I wanted to happen in the original LS, but never did (and never could) because the way I took the story didn't allow me to fit it in properly.  
> Anyway, I was rereading the whole of LS the other day and I just couldn't stop cringing and coming up with bursts of inspiration and ideas and ways I could incorporate the things i wanted originally into the story! So I sat down the other day and just started re-writing it.  
> I envision the main plot being more or less the same, but I wanted to revamp and change a bit!! Still not sure whether I'm going to keep in whole 'werewolf' thing or not!  
> First chapter's basically the same - but the original was 2616 words long, the new has 3881 words! So a big difference! There's a new start and a new end too! And I think you're all going to love Niall in this!  
> I plan to keep it similar but shake it up completely! I hope you all stick around for this new ride, and don't hate me too much for re-starting!!  
> Love you all and thank you for all for sticking with me through this, and for all you're love and support!!  
> Enjoy!!  
> xx

When Harry had gone to bed slightly earlier than normal, Louis hadn’t thought anything of it. It wasn’t unusual for one of them to clock off a tiny bit earlier than everyone else – and Harry had been working really hard lately on the new album.

Liam and Niall had gone to bed not long after anyway, and Zayn hadn’t been the best company as he was glued to his phone (as per the norm as of late); so, after watching a bit of TV, Louis had followed suit and went off to bed.

For some reason, instinct told him to check on Harry. He quietly pulled back the curtain of the bunk underneath his own.

Harry was asleep; an ugly frown was etched onto his beautiful face; his hair was damp with sweat and it was clear that the boy was having a restless sleep. Louis’ face turned down slightly and his eyebrows furrowed. He carefully placed the back of his hand to Harry’s forehead (Harry mewled slightly at the slightly colder touch) and felt his frown deepen; Harry had a temperature.

Louis felt the worry pool deep in his stomach as he carded his fingers softly through the other lad’s hair. He hoped Harry wasn’t coming down with something – that was the last thing any of them needed.

When Louis woke up the next morning, he recognised the scent of a freshly presented Omega. He silently cursed; he was happy for his friend, but knew that some things were going to have to change. And he knew Harry wasn’t going to like it one bit.

~ LS ~

Harry had had a terrible night. It had taken him much longer than normal to get to sleep and when he had finally dropped off, he had been really restless. He had woken at least 3 times every hour. To begin with, it was just the sound of the lads chatting quietly between themselves; then it was the pouring rain, hammering on the roof of the tour bus; then Zayn’s snoring at 2am, then it was the early morning birds, inconveniently tweeting outside his window and finally it was each and every movement that his band mates made as the quietly all got up.

When he woke for what felt like the umpteenth time, he decided to give up on getting any more shuteye; it was probably better to get up and go about his day and pray for a better night’s sleep tonight.

Sighing in frustration, Harry kicked the covers off and pulled the curtain back. It was only when the cool air of the bus hit him that he realised how warm he actually was. He put it down to being over-tired and restless; he was sure he’d be fine in an hour or so. Harry jumped up, stretching and yawning loudly; he could hear all the lads chatting and was surprised that he couldn’t hear any laughing…

Harry was so tired, that he could be bothered to head into the back room and rifle through his suitcase for a top, and he knew that Louis had adopted one of his jumpers the other day. He reached up and pulled aback the curtain of the bunk above his.

He froze as Louis’ Alpha scent hit him tenfold.

Had Louis always smelt this amazing? There was no way that Harry could be certain. He had always thought, however, that he had Louis’ scent memorised, melted smores and fresh winter nights, always warm and inviting. Now with the added rich coco, the extra warmth, the scent just turned Harry on.

_Wait? What?_

Harry shook his head, ignoring the little jolt his little pal had given just now. He discarded Louis’ pillow quickly and snatched up his favourite purple hoodie. It was all scrunched up and wrinkled from where the older lad had slept with it, but Harry didn’t mind (he was sure Louis had some weird fetish; the way he slept with his clothes all the time).

Harry groaned in delight, Louis’ scent surrounding him completely now as he slipped on the jumper. He raised a handful of the purple cotton to his nose so that he could take a deep whiff, and savour the amazing smell. He was never going to forget this smell, ever.

And still, he was getting more and more turned on by the scent as the seconds ticked by. And no matter how hard he willed his growing erection away, it stubbornly didn’t listen.

“Harry?” Louis’ voice called through from the front of the bus.

Harry jumped, the voice scaring him and pulling him out of his thoughts. His heart was thumping, his voice silent. He had been so lost in his mind, that he couldn’t be certain whether he had imagined the voice or not; and just as he was starting to believe he had, Louis called out again.

“Harry, are you alright back there?”

Harry cleared his throat, hands still holding tightly to the neck of his hoodie.

“Ye-yeah. I’ll be with you in a minute.”

He looked down at his crotch and huffed under his breath. Louis’ voice had sent him soaring, and mixed with his luscious scent; it was a bad combination (or flipping brilliant, depending on how you looked at it). He couldn’t face his best friends with a throbbing hard-on; there was only one thing for it.

It happened when he was tucked away in the tiny bathroom, seeing to his needs. He was trying to imagine that it was Jennifer Lawrence that was touching him; but the image didn’t cut it for him this time, and it was only as he tried to think of someone else that Louis’ face popped into his vision. That’s when he felt it.

He froze, paled and gulped.

He sank to his knees slowly, breathing deeply and trying to not to panic. He reached round to his backside. His long fingers hovered behind him, pretty certain of what he was going to find, but also scared shitless. He took a deep breath before plunging his fingers between his cheeks, only for a second or two. The wet, sticky feeling that covered his fingers had him grimacing as he quickly brought his hand back into his line of sight.

“No,” Harry harshly whispered as he rubbed his thumb over his sticky fingers. “No! God, please! No!” He clenched his fist, the sticky substance making a squelching sound. “Fuck!” He clumsily reached round to his arse again, just to double check.

Nope, there was no denying it; _he was producing slick._

Suddenly, Harry didn’t feel so aroused.

He sat on the cool, tiled, bathroom floor with his back pressed against the shower door for a little while. His mind was racing at 100mph and he just couldn’t think straight.

He was an Omega.

What were his mates going to say? Management? The fans? His mum? _Oh god!_ What was his Dad going to say!

Harry had never really worried what he’d present as, because he’d come from an AlphaxAlpha family. Even his sister had present as an Alpha. But, at the back of his mind there was always a niggling worry that he would present as an Omega. Even a Beta would have been better than this!

He, personally had never had a problem with O’s. It was his father that had. He had been so angry when he found out Harry had auditioned for the X-Factor unpresented without him knowing; if Harry had asked him for permission, he wouldn’t have granted it until he had known what Harry had presented as, _“Because Harry, Omega’s are not to be in the work place! You know this! If you present as an Omega, I will have no choice but to pull you out of anything that comes from this silly stint!"_

Harry’s father was a traditionalist, an old-fashioned Alpha who believed in the way of his ancestors. Harry had been brought up around it all, being taught how to look after an Omega ‘the proper way’, and evidently, what to expect it he grew up to present as one. The man was loud and domineering, making his thoughts and views widely known; Omega’s were not allowed to work (and by, god, Harry had ripped his father a new one when the older man had found out about Niall!). He believed that as soon as someone presented as Omega they should be taken and put away in the house, to cook, clean, look after the children and constantly be bare feet and pregnant; assigned to a compatible Alpha from the get-go. There were many, many things that Harry’s father believed that were right for poor Omega’s – and while Harry had never shared the man’s thinking one bit, growing up with it all drilled into his head made Harry scared that was what he would become. It was something he had never, ever wanted.

He was a late presenter too, which should have been a possible sign of presenting as an O; Omega’s usually did present later than everyone else. He hadn’t even been of presenting age when he skipped school to go to the audition that changed his whole life. When the 5 lads had been put together, none of them knew their 2nd gender apart from Louis; that kid was 100% Alpha! Liam and Zayn presented during the live shows as an Alpha and a Beta, and then Niall followed suit when they were working on their first album, and he was nothing put a proud Omega. Which left Harry as the only one who hadn’t.

The fans had speculated, his band mates had speculated and Harry didn’t mind one bit; he just made sure that everyone knew he was going to present as nothing less than an Alpha.

But now, here he was; producing slick, and sitting on the bathroom floor, naked from the waist down, sniffing his jumper which smelt of the most delicious Alpha ever, and having just imagined said Alpha touching him. He was shocked, to say the least.

Harry let out a strangled cry and hurried to undress fully. He rushed into the shower and scrubbed _everywhere_ rigorously, wanting to get rid of all Omega traces that might be on him, especially the slick between his crack.

When he was dried and dressed (in one of Louis’ bigger shirts and his purple hoodie again, in hopes that it would hide his new Omega scent), he made his way to the front of the bus, to join his best friends for breakfast. They were supposed to be having another show tonight, so they were going to be doing sound checks and rehearsals most of the day. Harry just knew it was only a matter of time before he went into his first heat though and everything came to a halt; he had been feeling a little warm all morning and he figured that he was probably closer to a heat than he probably realised.

The first thing Harry noticed, upon entering the front of the bus, were the many scents rolling off of everyone. Zayn’s Beta scent was covered heavily in aftershave which made Harry almost want to choke; Liam’s earthy scent and Niall’s sunny scent were mixed from where the pair were mated; and Louis’ which was only stronger now; they all surrounded him and made him want to collapse to his knees. Then he recognised the smell of worry, coming from each and every member at the breakfast table in front of him; and looking at them all in turn, he realised, they all knew.

Harry stood there, frozen in place and unsure what to think or feel with all of their eyes trained on him.

The sound of chair legs scraping on the floor made him jump in turn in the direction of the movement. He felt his stomach flip and his breath catch in his throat as Louis got up and quickly approached him. The Alpha threw his arms around Harry’s shoulders and pulled the taller boy into a tight, welcoming embrace.

“Congratulations Harry,” Louis’ whispered into his hair, happily. “So proud of you, mate.”

Harry let a loud sob fall from his lips before he burst into tears. His hands clutched the Alpha’s shirt tightly as he cried into Louis’ neck.

Louis shushed him comfortingly, letting Harry cry as much as he needed. Everyone acted differently to presenting, whether they got what they wanted or not; and this was obviously Harry’s way of dealing with it. He felt the newly presented Omega’s knees go weak and he let Harry guide them down until they were on the ground, and Louis gently pulled him into his lap.

The other three who were sat at the table behind them, looked on with concern. They each wanted to try and help, but knew better than to step in the way of such a situation. They each shared a couple of looks between them and all hoped that Harry was going to be okay.

“I’ve got you Hazza,” Louis cooed, a hand running through Harry’s now sweaty hair.

“Louis?” Harry asked, as if only just realising that Louis had his arms around him and was comforting him; but at the same time he knew that Louis had always been there. And being in Louis’ arms felt right, felt like he belonged there.

“Yes Hazza?”

“Louis,” Harry cried, clutching Louis’ clothes tighter. “Louis, I’m scared!”

“Oh Harry,” Louis gushed, squeezing Harry closer to him for just a second and trying to portray to Harry just how safe he was with him. “That’s okay. It’s okay to be scared. I was to you know, when I presented.” His voice was soft and reassuring.

“But what about the fans? The band?”

“Everything will be okay Harry,” Louis continued, using the same tone. “Nothing is going to change between us, between any of us; and you know that. We’re a band, and we’re best friends – we stick together, through the good and the bad. And we’ll all stick with you through this too!”

There was a quiet chorus of agreement from behind him.

“As for the fans; we might lose some – but then we’ll know that they weren’t behind us no matter what. The majority of the fan base will still be there, Harry. They loved you then, they’re going to love you even more now. Don’t you worry about a thing, okay? Everything is going to be just fine.”

“My Dad Louis,” Harry whispered. “What about my Dad? He could pull me out of this band!”

Louis didn’t say anything for a second, and Harry wailed. Unless Harry had an Alpha and was mated, his father had every right to stop him from continuing on with his career. And there was nothing anyone would be able to do about it until he mated.

“We’ll sort something out Harry; I promise.”

~ LS ~

After crying on Louis for a little while, Harry had addressed everyone. Everyone congratulated him, expressed how happy they were for him. They didn’t treat him any different, and Harry had found himself wondering just why he had been anxious to approach them. He had had a little bite to eat, before turning and shutting himself away from everyone in the back of the tour bus.

He sat there curled up tightly, thinking about everything that could and probably would happen now. There were so many bad things that were bound to happen, and most of them involved his father.

He had been shut away by himself for about an hour when a knock sounded at the door. It was clear everyone was trying to give him space, but he could feel the heat blossoming in him and knew it was getting steadily worse. He could only imagine how the scent was probably affecting the two Alpha’s and stinking up the tour bus; it was seriously only a matter of time before it was fill blown heat… and Harry didn’t know whether he was ready.

“Come in,” Harry called, recognising the minty scent and the strong waft of aftershave, even over his own heat-scent.

Zayn slipped in quickly and shut the door behind him again. He took a breath and started coughing slightly.

“Wow,” He blinked. “Am I glad Louis’ didn’t come in here!”

Harry narrowed his eyes slightly and brought his legs to his chest, tucking his knees under his chin, stupidly hoping that might stop the strong heat-scent. He knew it wouldn’t.

Zayn shook his head, obviously trying to clear his thoughts. Although Harry’s heat was and always would call for an Alpha, it still affected Zayn, a Beta. It probably turned him on a little, and instinctively told him to help the poor O. Zayn tried to subtly rearrange the front of his trousers, and Harry silently scoffed, not feeling sorry for him at all – he was the one to come in here after all.

“What do you want?” He asked the Beta, grumpily.

“Harry, you’re in heat dude.”

“And?” Harry grumbled, shrugging his shoulders. Way to state the obvious Zayn.

“Well, we need to let Simon know you’ve presented and get you to a hotel ASAP, don’t you think?” Zayn walked closer and sat himself down next to Harry.

“You haven’t told him already?” Harry questioned, genuinely surprised.

“No, of course not,” Zayn explained. “I mean, the Alpha’s wanted to; but I managed to talk them round – it’s your news, you should be the one to break it.”

Harry looked up to see the sincerity in Zayn’s face.

“Thank you,” He whispered.

“You’re welcome,” The Beta smiled, holding out Harry’s mobile for him. “You phone Simon okay? I’ll get a hotel room sorted for you, okay?”

Harry’s bottom lip began to wobble as tears pooled in his eyes. He nodded and sniffed, wiping at his eyes. Zayn wrapped his arms around the Omega, and gave him a slight squeeze.

“Everything’s going to be just fine,” Zayn tried to reassure him. “Just you wait and see, okay?”

Harry nodded, still wiping at his eyes.

“Thanks Zayn.”

Zayn smiled warmly, ruffled Harry’s curls before he left the room.

Harry waited a second before pulling up Simon’s number and pressing call.

~ LS ~

“I need to help him Zayn!” Louis expressed, head in his hands as Zayn finished his call with the nearest hotel. “He’s calling to me!”

“He’s calling to all Alpha’s, Lou,” Liam explained, exasperated. Liam wasn’t feeling as affected as Louis obviously was, but then Liam already had an Omega of his own, stood in the kitchen making a sandwich as a snack, and his inner-Alpha recognised that this wasn’t Niall’s heat-scent. “And he will do until he’s mated.”

“I want to mate with him!” Louis cried. “I want to mate with him right now!”

“No!” Niall cut off the Alpha, before he could say anymore. Everyone turned to look at the blonde Omega, shocked; Niall had always been loud and bubbly, but polite. He barely ever spoke out like he just had.

“Absolutely not Louis Tomlinson!” He turned around and pointed the butter knife he was using to spread the butter on his bread at the Alpha. “If you want to be Harry’s Alpha, fine! But you do not get to force a mating on the poor sod! He woke up not even 2 hours ago, as an Omega; he’s barely accepted it himself! He’s also in heat – give it a couple more hours, when he’s fully under the heat and he will agree to anything!” Niall now slammed the knife onto the side and crossed his arms.

“That means he can’t properly consent! And do you know what else that also means?” Niall didn’t let Louis have a chance at even guessing. “It means Harry would fucking hate you for the rest of his life! He can’t give consent Louis! And there is no way I am letting you go back there and do that to my, to your, best friend! It would ruin him!”

Niall was absolutely seething.

“So, no! Keep your teeth retracted and keep your fucking knot in your pants! Or so help me I will cut it off with this butter knife!”

Louis was now blushing slightly from being told off by this Omega. Yet, he knew everything Niall was saying was utterly true.

“I’m sorry,” Louis apologised whole heartedly, head down in shame. “You’re right; I’m sorry.”

“You better be!” Niall hissed turning on his heel, back round to finish making his sandwich.

Liam, who had sat back and let the whole show go on, now stood up and went over to his angry little blonde, a small smile on his face. He wrapped his arms around Niall’s waist and rested his head on the back on his mate’s shoulder, feeling the Omega relax in his hold.

“Right,” Zayn started a minute or two later, after what had just happened seemed to sink in. “So, what are we going to do?”

“What do you mean?” Liam asked, turning his head to look back at Louis and Zayn, leaving his arms around Niall.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not telling the fans or the public before Harry wants to. For all we know, he might want to keep the secret for a little while…”

“We’ll say I’ve gone into an early heat,” Niall decided. “That won’t be hard to cover up. In fact,” Niall turned around in Liam’s hold. “We could head off to the hotel now, before Harry leaves, and that way if any paps are around, we’ve covered ourselves.”

“That’s a brilliant idea Ni,” Liam smiled down at his mate proudly.

“Okay, that’s settled then,” Zayn nodded. “You guys set off now then; the cars outside waiting. We’ll call another one for Harry when he’s finished on the phone with Si.”

Roughly 10 minutes after the mated couple had left, and Zayn and Louis were chatting about the morning’s favourite topic, Harry appeared.

“Harry?”  Louis gasped, assaulted by Harry’s heat-scent. Zayn watched the Alpha carefully, and could tell that Louis was doing everything he could to hold back.

“I’ve spoken to Simon,” He explained quietly. “We’re going to have a meeting once my heats over to sort a few things out. And uh, he’s going to cancel the show tonight.”

“Okay,” Zayn nodded his understanding. It was clear that Harry had been crying while on the phone to Simon, and now his eyes were beginning to shine all over again.

Louis stood up, and made his way over to the quietly sobbing Omega. Before Louis could wrap his arms around Harry, the younger boy launched himself at the Alpha. They ended up in the same position as this morning, kneeling on the floor in each other’s embrace.

Zayn had to admit, they did look like they belonged together. And, considering their relationship before Harry had presented, and how the two seemed to want to be attached even now, Zayn found himself wondering if the two were true mates. But he quickly dismissed that thought, because if they were, surely Harry’s heat would have triggered Louis’ rut… right?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's heat...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING - there is a little bit of dub-con/non-con right in the middle of the chapter. However it's not drastic or too explicit. And definitely not graphically explained. (You'll know what I mean when you come across it; just a heads up!!)
> 
> Hello!! Welcome back!!  
> Thank you for all the bookmarks, kudos and comments!! I'm so pleased with the positive reaction this book has gone!! As you can see when comparing this chapter to chapter 2 of the original version, it's got some differences while much of it is the same!! Let me know what you think!!

** Chapter 2 **

Harry hadn’t wanted to leave the security of the tour bus and venture out into the world where he was certain someone could and would see him, and scent him. It took a little bit of persuading, but Harry finally agreed to hurry into the car waiting outside for them, and wait out his impending heat in a secure heat room at the closest hotel they could find.

Louis was not letting Harry go alone, and Zayn decided that he might as well join the two on the journey rather than wait by himself for his own car. He made Louis sit in the front, much to the Alpha’s dismay, while he sat in the back with Harry. The Beta and Omega snuggled together, and Zayn did not fail to notice the short, jealous looks Louis kept throwing them.

Upon arriving at the hotel, an hour after leaving the tour bus site, Harry’s skin was itching and he was starting to sweat. His breath kept catching in his throat and his scent was choking even Zayn, until Zayn had to peel himself away from the Omega before even he did something he would regret.

Niall and Liam where there to meet them at the hotel, and Niall rushing forward to help Harry. The two Omega’s shuffled away down the corridor, towards the special Heat/Rut wing of the hotel, where Harry would see his heat out in. Louis groaned low in his throat, as he watched them go.

~ LS ~

The Heat was gradually taking over him; his thoughts were all over the place and all he knew was that he wanted an Alpha; Louis more specifically. Niall had his arm around his shoulder, in a strong hold that Harry couldn’t break away from. He kept looking back longingly, hoping that Louis was following them.

“Come on Harry,” Niall spoke softly, his hand squeezing his left shoulder in reassurance.

“Louis?” Harry asked, breath caught in his throat. His voice was pleading, begging Niall for the one thing he wanted most.

“Louis’ll still be there after your heat, Hazza,” Niall explained kindly, as they turned the corner, officially losing sight of the rest of gang. “And so will Liam and Zayn.”

Harry whined in complaint, but let Niall lead him away from the others. He was unsure of what to say or do, unable to put his thoughts and feelings in the right order; it was just easier to let someone else guide him.

Niall was quick to get to room 412, and get Harry inside and settled; not for his benefit, for Harry’s. He knew the heat was starting to get to Harry, as the lad was nowhere near as chatty as normal, and his eyes were all over the place. He had recently begun to pant and beads of sweat beginning to gather at the top of his forehead.

“Right,” Niall started, once he’d got Harry sat on the edge of the bed. He pointed to the toy box at the end of the bed, hoping that Harry was aware enough to take in everything he was about to be told. “Toy box; self-explanatory really; dildo’s, vibrators, nipple clamps, gag’s… the works.”

Harry nodded, eyes starting to glass over. Niall wasn’t sure Harry was listening properly and hurried to continue before Harry was completely lost to the Heat.

“Bathroom over there,” Niall pointed it out, but knew how unlikely it was Harry was going to use it without encouragement. “Phone; it connects you with my room as soon as you pick it up; so if you want or need anything, call me.”

Again, Harry nodded, but it appeared like he was taking in less and less by the second.

“I’ll come in every couple of hours during the day to check up on you and give you a hand with everyday tasks such as eating and bathing, okay?”

Once Niall had left, Harry took a moment to look around. It was a large room, with a king-sized bed pressed up against the middle of the wall, a large TV hung high opposite. The main colour scheme was white and pale blue, probably to offer a calming feel to the Heat ridden Omega’s. Harry didn’t pay too much attention to the small details around him, feeling too hot to focus on them. He quickly rid himself of the jumper he’d put on after his shower, hoping to relieve some of the warmth.

Harry kicked his shoes off as well, and moved himself up the bed until he was resting against the pillows and headboard. He grabbed the TV remote and switched it on, every so often changing channels, trying to find something he actually wanted to watch; there was an itchiness beneath his skin that Harry tried desperately to forget about. He soon found some superhero movie which he soon became absorbed in.

It was because of this that he didn’t realise that he was palming himself through his trousers until his orgasm ripped through him, and the wetness of his semen pressed uncomfortably against his crotch.

“Oh god!” He cried, embarrassment and humiliation surging through him. He’d got so lost in the film, that he hadn’t even realised that he’d had his hand over his dick, slowly getting himself off. He quickly rid himself of the filthy clothes and hid himself underneath the bed covers.

He began crying, unable to stop the tears from falling. He felt so ashamed; how had he been reduced to this? He’d never planned on becoming an Omega, it had definitely been the last thing on his list of things to do! His father had by no means scared him into wanting to present as anything other than an O; with his harmful slurs and gender shaming words. His father’s traditional ways had been drilled into his head even since he’d been little, and had been his father’s way to ‘prepare him’ if he did present O, but in reality, Harry knew it had all been to scare him. And it had worked; he was terrified about what he had become and what was going to happen now… he could barely bring himself to think about the possibilities.

Eventually, Harry cried himself to sleep, utterly exhausted even though he’d only been awake an hour or so.

~ LS ~

“He’s going to be fine Louis,” Zayn grumbled for what felt like the umpteenth time this hour.

“I can’t stop thinking about him!” Louis explained, exasperatedly, pulling at his hair as he passed up and down the small room.

“Me either,” Zayn sighed, sitting up from his led down position on the bed. “It’s his first heat Lou, of course we’re all going to be thinking of him.”

“He’s all by himself!” Louis was clearly distressed. Zayn raised his eyebrows, a quick thought going off in the back of their mind about them being true mates, but quickly dismissed it again – there was definitely no sign of a rut coming from Louis, nor had there been when the two had first met.

“He’s scared and alone Zayn! He needs me!”

“No,” Zayn spoke firmly. “Harry needs you to stay out here and be strong for him here. Niall’s right; it would break Harry, and you know it!”

Louis grumbled something Zayn didn’t quite catch before he sunk heavily into the armchair in the corner of the room. He placed his head in his hands and fell silent.

Zayn smelt the salty tears, rather than heard them and his heart broke for his friend.

“Louis,” He spoke gently.

“I feel so helpless Zee,” Louis cried, voice muffled behind his hands. “I just want to hold him, to guide him and help him through this. He needs it!”

“Lou…”

“I know Zayn,” Louis lifted his head, fat tears rolling from his eyes. “I can’t and I won’t… but I want to… desperately!”

“I get it mate, I really do,” Zayn expressed softly, wanting to get up and comfort the Alpha, but knowing from experience that when Louis got like this he would just push you away unless you were Harry. So he stayed sat on the edge of the bed, trying to comfort Louis with his words. “But you know he’ll get through this, and when he does we can get back on the road and maybe, just maybe, you could court him.?”

Louis said nothing, and instead buried his head in his hands again, still sobbing every few seconds.

~ LS ~

Niall knocked politely on the door before entering, even though he was adamant that Harry probably wouldn’t have even heard it. After waited a few moments, Niall unlocked the door and entered cautiously, knowing how dangerous it could be to sneak up on a heat-driven Omega.

Harry was in the middle of the bed, on his hands and knees with his arse high in the air. He had his fingers shoved down his gaping hole as deep as he could get them, his hips rocking in time to the movements his hands were making. He was clenching down on them desperately, clearly needing a knot to lock to. Harry was covered in sweat, slick and cum, both wet and dried. The sheets on the bed were soaked through and the room stank of heat and sex and lust – and even Niall choked on it all when he had first opened the door.

Harry, who had clearly been in a state of half-bliss, half-pain, startled at the sight of the other Omega and suddenly become overwhelmed with embarrassment.

“Go away!” Harry all but screamed into the pillow upon scenting Niall.

Niall didn’t respond, he just stepped further into the room, only coming to a stop when he was at the side of the bed. He placed a glass filled with a calorie-rich strawberry smoothie on the bedside table.

“Jesus Harry,” Niall spoke softly and kindly, a great contrast to the thoughts and feelings that were ripping through Harry. “How long have you been up to that?” He easily left out the part of Harry looking like an _absolute_ wreck.

“I said go away!” Harry growled out of him, raising his head to snap his elongated teeth at the other Omega in warning.

Niall nearly took a step back, but knew that it would just be encouraging Harry to keep threatening him. And, Niall reminded himself, this was his friend – his friend who needed his help right now… he could be strong for Harry!

“It’s okay Harry, I’m not going to hurt you,” Niall reassured. “You’ve got nothing to be ashamed off, it’s natural. Remember that time you had to help me when Liam couldn’t get back from the studio fast enough?”

Harry didn’t say anything, his face hidden in the pillow again, but Niall kept talking, realising that the sound of his voice was actually helping.

“I was embarrassed then too you know. No one but my Mum and Liam had seen me like that. It is a very private thing, but you also can’t see to this alone Harry…”

“Louis?” Harry asked hopefully.

“Oh Harry,” Niall spoke sadly. “I’m afraid not. I’m here to help you through this, this time. Make sure you’re eating and drinking and help you shower and bath. Okay?”

“Louis,” Harry sobbed openly. “I need Louis!” His fingers slowed to a stop, until Harry pulled them out with a slight pop. He began crying in earnest, Louis’ name slipping out in between his cries.  He didn’t care that he was covered in and surrounded by cum, slick and sweat, he was only focused on one thing… Louis.

“I know,” Niall soothed, his voice full of compassion. He really did know what it was like to seek out a heat alone without an Alpha. It was horrible! Horrible didn’t even describe it. And to make matters worse, Harry knew what Alpha he wanted. It was like they were true mates.

“Hazza,” Niall called for Harry’s full attention. He crouched down beside the bed and placed a gentle hand on Harry’s head. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Niall?” Harry croaked, turning his face so that he was looking at the blonde. It was like he was only now registering that Niall was in front of him. “Please… I… I need… need… need Lou,” He hiccupped. “Please! Get Louis!”

“No Harry,” Niall whispered apologetically.

Harry wailed loudly, reaching to cling onto Niall’s shirt weakly.

“Please!”

Niall’s heart broke for Harry, wanting to go and get Louis for him, but knowing he just couldn’t.

“I won’t bring Louis, Harry. In fact, I won’t be bringing you any Alphas. I’m sorry,” He paused as Harry pushed his face back into hiding. “You’re not in the right mind Harry. If I got Louis he wouldn’t be able to hold back, and neither would you. Harry,” He began again in reply to Harry’s heartbroken sobs. “It’s the heat talking, I promise. If I did what you asked me, you would regret it the moment the fog clears up.”

~ LS ~

“Jesus!” Niall screeched, as he was crushed into the arms of an Alpha as soon as he walked round the corner.

A cold nose was pressed to the base of his throat and Niall was desperately trying to push the Alpha away, especially when he recognised Louis’ scent.

“Louis!” He cried at the top of his lungs. “Louis! Get off!”

“Harry!” Louis replied, squashing Niall even closer to his chest.

Niall was literally just about to go and have a long, hot shower to wash off Harry’s heat scent, but Louis had caught up to him before he could get to his hotel room.

 “Louis!”

“Smell like Harry,” Louis commented, taking a long sniff. He moaned deep and gruff, Niall feeling the vibrations through his chest.

Another thing Niall could feel was Louis’ hard, pulsing cock, pressing deep to his groin. And the lust and pheromones rolling off of Louis were starting to affect Niall and make him panic.

“Louis!” He preyed, pushing with all his might against the Alpha’s shoulders. Louis was way too strong. “Louis please! I know I smell like Harry but please!”

Louis started mouthing at Niall’s neck, and Niall really started to panic.

“Louis!” He tried again desperately. The Alpha was not listening, too engrossed in the heat scent the surrounded Niall.

Niall did the only thing he could think to do.

“LIAM!” He screeched at the top of his lungs, sending the panicked shout through their mating link as well. Instantly, he could feel Liam and knew that his Alpha was on his way – everything would be fine.

Louis seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in at Niall’s shout. He pulled away quickly, as if he had been burnt.

Niall hurried back, away from him, breathing heavily as he sunk to his knees.

Louis’ face was horror stuck and he couldn’t believe what he had just been doing.

“Niall?” He asked softly. “Niall – oh god! Niall! I’m so sorry!”

“Niall?” Liam came crashing around the corner, he took one glance at his Omega, and hurried to scoop him into his arms. He could smell Harry’s heat scent all over Niall, and then his eyes set on Louis and he put two and two together.

“What happened?” Liam growled out, threat deep in his throat.

“Liam… I…”

“What have you done?!”

“I didn’t… my Alpha!” Louis tried to explain.

Niall, who was also now coming back to his senses, clutched to Liam’s shoulders (the Alpha wasn’t wearing a shirt as he had been working out in the private gym the band had access to).

“It’s okay,” Niall soothed his Alpha. “I’m covered in Harry’s heat scent. He didn’t mean to.”

“I’m so sorry Niall!” Louis pleaded with the blonde. He was terrified that he’d severed their friendship now, scared the Omega for life… he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he had.

“Get out of here Louis, before I rip your throat out!” Liam threatened. He watched the other Alpha scamper away down the corridor before giving Niall his full attention.

“Did he hurt you?”

“No Liam,” Niall shook his head. “I was just heading back to shower and he came out of nowhere… I should have expected it to be honest.”

“No, you shouldn’t have – I should have been with you, protecting you.”

“I didn’t need protecting Liam Payne!” Niall rumbled, his growl not sounding as fierce as Liam’s had.

“Then why did you scream for me then?” Liam asked, standing up and helping Niall to stand as well. He felt okay now that he knew Niall was absolutely fine, but still didn’t know how he felt with Louis.

“I just needed some help to drill some sense into Louis’ thick skull, is all,” Niall shrugged. He continued before Liam could say anything else on the matter. “However, I would not like a repeat of what just happened and so would like a shower before I go and reassure Louis that everything is fine. No Liam, I will go alone,” Niall was quick to correct Liam’s assumption when the Alpha opened his mouth to contradict what his Omega was just saying. “You can however join me in the shower, if you like.”

And with that, Niall stalked off down the corridor, shimmying his hips and enticing the Alpha to follow him.

~ LS ~

It was as Harry was coming out of his heat, that it really sunk in for the first time. Now that there wasn’t much of a fog clouding up his mind, he realised;

He, _Harry Styles_ , was an _Omega_!

When he had first reached that conclusion properly, 3 days ago, he had sat in the corner of the hotel room, naked, and had cried into his arms. He had cried for nearly 2 hours before another bout of lust had hit him and he was reaching for the pink dildo that Niall had given him from the toy box at the beginning of the week.

Harry hadn’t had a great week. He hadn’t realised he could get himself off so many times in under an hour, let alone days and weeks at a time. It had once seemed next to impossible and now here he was living through it. He would shower about 2 or 3 times a day, depending when Niall came in to check on him.

Niall. Gosh, he felt like his fellow Omega knew every part of his body now, inside and out. He had helped Harry find the right position to help him take a knot more pleasurably, he’d fucked the dildo in and out of Harry’s gaping hole when Harry had been in the midst of his heat and hadn’t thought anything of it at the time (he was mortified when he thought back to it now), he had made sure that Harry kept eating and drinking and had more often than not, got into the shower with him to make sure that he showered properly, and didn’t make himself sore.

Harry really had to hand it to Niall; he really had been a great friend this past week.

Harry was led on the bed, counting the ceiling tiles (he knew in advance that there were 60 tiles, he had counted them a total of 15 times) when Niall walked in, singing his arrival.

“How are you today Harry?” Niall questioned as he plonked a plate of toast in his lap. They had been building back up to solids in the past couple of days after he had lived on nothing but smoothies for just under a weak. It was soup the other day, porridge yesterday and now, apparently, it was time for toast.

“Fine,” Harry answered honestly, pushing himself to sit up.

“Good,” Niall smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed and watching fondly as Harry started eating the toast.

“Yep – no heat,” Harry explained, his mouth full of bread.

“Yeah, you don’t smell like heat,” Niall agreed with a nod. He scrunched his nose up as he looked around the room. “This room does though!”

“Yeah, it actually sucks!” Harry nodded, taking another bite of his toast. He was starving.

“Yeah. But hey – good news! Looks like your heat is over!”

“Oh, thank god!” Harry grumbled before swallowing the final bite of his slice of toast. Yesterday, Harry had declared that his heat was finished, but Niall insisted that it wasn’t. And the blonde had been right; he’d been watching TV when the itch had returned; but that had been the last time that he had needed to get himself off.

Harry pushed his plate away from him and went to get up, before remembering that he didn’t have any clothes.

“Way ahead of you,” Niall explained, swimming a bag up and dumping it on the bed in front of Harry, before the Omega could say anything. “Knew you’d be free of it today, so I came prepared.”

Harry opened the bag and found a set of his clothes folded neatly. He was hit with his old scent, and for the first time realised that it had changed.

“What do I smell like now?” Harry asked seriously, standing up to begin getting dressed.

“It’s hard to tell,” Niall admitted. “Because we’re still surrounded in your heat scent. But definitely freshly cut grass.”

“Nice,” Harry smiled, slipping his shoes on, forgoing the socks for now as all he wanted to do was escape from these four walls.

“I can’t wait to get out of this room and let everything go back to normal!”

“Wait, Harry!” Niall called, as Harry made his way towards the door. “You realise things aren’t going to go all the way back to the way they were before – right?”

“I know,” Harry sighed sadly. “But I can try.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has a meeting with Simon.

** Chapter 3 **

“I hope today’s the day,” Louis mumbled, looking at his fancy continental breakfast. He frowned at it before pushing the plate away. “I hate this; not seeing him, knowing he’s hurting and not being able to do anything about it. It’s killing me, I swear!”

“He’ll come through,” Liam reassured his Alpha friend kindly, tearing into a fresh, warm bread roll. He spread a healthy helping of jam on one piece before shoving it in his mouth.

“All Omega’s heats are different,” Zayn went on to explain. Even though he knew that Louis knew this, the Alpha just needed to be reminded. “Some last 3 days, some can last up to 14. Who knows exactly where Harry falls?”

“But, remember; yesterday Niall said he wasn’t far from being finished,” Liam added, picking up his second piece of bread.

“Still,” Louis sighed. “I miss the guy.”

“We all do Lou,” Zayn agreed in a whisper.

Things fell silent between the trio for a moment, all of their thoughts on Harry and his new Omega status. Liam and Zayn ate their breakfasts, and Louis sipped from his cup of coffee, watching the door and praying that the curly haired lad would walk through any moment.

It had been a long week for Louis; he’d had to get a room as far away from the heat wing as possible, just so he wasn’t anywhere near Harry for the temptation to prove too much. It had been hell not being able to see him or hear his voice, and the little laugh he always did. Louis had taken to locking himself away in his room most of the time, sulking over the whole situation. None of the other band mates had reacted to Harry’s heat this way, and it really had got them speculating the possibility of true mates. (Zayn had even googled whether it was possible for a true-mates couple to not instantly go into heat/rut upon meeting; the answer had been _no_.)

The media and the fans had started to become restless because they hadn’t seen anything of Harry in over a week now, and both his Instagram and Twitter pages had been inactive too. Louis had tried to cover for the guy by saying he hadn’t been feeling well lately and was taking some time to rest, but nobody had really listened. If you scrolled through twitter, you came to realise that the public was smarter than you gave them credit for. Most fans had worked out that Harry had presented; and while Louis wasn’t sure how they had, he was pretty darn impressed (if not angry for the lack of privacy Harry currently had regarding this, even though it hadn’t officially been made public yet).

“What are we going to do when Niall actually goes into heat?” Zayn asked conversationally. And now that it had been said, every single member at the table couldn’t help but wonder why they hadn’t thought of this before now. It was going to be hard for Harry to completely come to terms with his new Omega status, and no one could be certain if or when he would want to break the news to the fans. If he did it before Niall went into heat, they would all be okay; if he didn’t, who knew? And everyone had already silently agreed not to force him to tell the public if he didn’t want to.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Liam answered professionally, and Louis could almost hear the cogs turning in his mind.

It was as Liam said that, that Niall walked through the door. But no curly haired lad in sight.

“How is he?” Louis demanded to know as soon as he saw Niall.

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Niall smirked, moving to the side and letting a familiar figure into the room.

“Harry!” The three at the table cried.

Louis rushed to his feet, the heavy chair he had just been sat on sliding across the floor. Louis was quick to cross the room and engulf the new Omega in a bone crushing, love-filled hug. Louis felt his heart swell and quickly blinked the tears away as he buried his nose in the new, fresher scent of the boy.

“Louis!” Harry whispered almost desperately, hands hurrying to wrap themselves around the Alpha. The two fit together, and the others didn’t want to interrupt.

~ LS ~

Harry had thrown a fit when he had found out that the plan for the evening was to spend another night in the hotel. It hadn’t taken much convincing for Louis to agree and within the hour they were all checking out and making the journey back to the location of the tour bus.

Walking back through the doors and into the familiar space, Harry realised nothing had been touched since they had left just over a week ago. Everything was exactly where they had left it.

Instantly feeling at home, Harry flopped himself down on the sofa.

“Ugh! I’ve missed this place!” Harry exclaimed, grabbing the nearest cushion and burying his face in it. All over were the different, individual scents of every band member. “Ohh, you could make a great nest with stuff from this place!”

“I know! I’ve been saying that forever!” Niall agreed, hopping onto the sofa beside him, eyes wide with excitement at finally being able to chat to someone who would just get it.

Looking at Niall, Harry couldn’t find it in himself to be embarrassed over what he had said; it was a very ‘omega-thing’ to say, and if you had told him a week ago that he’d be saying about making a nest, he would never have believed you.

“How about some tea?” Louis asked kindly, already heading towards the kettle in their little kitchenette.

Harry glanced over at the Alpha and felt his heart swell. The Alpha looked back at him with a fond expression, and Harry couldn’t help imagining creating a nest with Louis. He wouldn’t mind doing that… not at all!

~ LS ~

As the evening rolled round, Harry found himself yawning more and more frequently. Being in heat had really taken it out of him, and he was slowly falling asleep, curled up so close to Louis. The group had been watching TV together, mostly in silence; every now and then someone would say something and they would all laugh, but they would soon settle into a comfortable quiet as they simply enjoyed each other’s company. Being back with them all made Harry realise just how much he’d missed them all.

Niall excused himself to bed at about 10, Liam following him like a little lost puppy. Zayn had gone a little later, mumbling something about a busy day tomorrow. And Harry knew that, there was a lot that needed righting since he had gone into heat – it was just that, he was enjoying Louis’ hold so much that he didn’t want to leave it.

“Oh Harry,” Louis whispered into the night. The atmosphere around them had changed now it was just the two of them. Louis had turned the TV down a notch or two, cautious about the noise keeping them awake. And now it was just the two of them, Louis seemed to relax a little more, which made Harry feel even better.

“Harry,” Louis tried again, pressing his nose to Harry’s hair. “I missed you so much this week.”

“I missed you too Lou,” Harry whispered back, clutching Louis’ slightly smaller hands in his own. “It was hell without you.”

“I felt the same,” Louis agreed, pressing a simple chaste kiss to Harry’s temple. Harry thought nothing of it, as this was usual Louis behaviour. Still, Harry could smell the slight tint of Louis’ arousal, and found that he really didn’t mind.

“I think it’s time for bed,” Louis said after a moment or two, sounding regretful.

“No,” Harry whined, wriggling further into Louis. “I want to stay here.”

“Harry. If I stay here like this, I’m going to do something that we both regret,” As he said this, he helped Harry sit up in his lap. He cupped Harry’s hand with his cheek and turned the boy to face him. “And I love you too much to do that. So please, let’s go to bed.”

Grudgingly, Harry got up and sulked all the way down to the bunks. Behind him, Louis was moving about, shutting every off and turning off the lights. Aware that the other boys were all asleep (especially if Zayn’s snoring was anything to go by), Harry used the light of his phone to continue his short journey; Louis had the same idea.

Harry, not worried at all about modesty (living in very close proximity with 5 other lads will do that to you), took off his clothes, leaving only his boxers on.

He pulled back the curtain of his bunk, ready to mumble goodnight to his best friend, when his old scent hit him like a shockwave and had him stepping back coughing.

“Alright?” Louis asked, rushing to his aid. In the large double bunk, they both heard Liam stir at the noise.

“Fine,” Harry choked. “Just didn’t realise how awful I used to smell!”

“You smelt just fine,” Louis assured him. “But, I must admit you smell even better now.”

“Everything okay?” Liam’s voice whispered, his head popping out from between the curtain above their heads.

“Fine,” Louis hissed. “Go back to sleep!”

Liam grumbled in reply, but quickly retreated.

“Louis, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep in my bunk tonight. That stench will kill me!” Harry coughed again, hand over his nose trying to block the dreadful scent out.

“Take my bunk,” Louis offered without a beat. “I’ll sleep in yours.”

“Louis, I can’t,” Harry tried to decline. “That’s not fair!”

“Honestly, it’s fine! It’s not going to hurt for one night until we can get everything cleaned out and de-odorised. I’ll get Paul on it tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” Harry asked, still uncertain.

“Absolutely. Come on, I’ll help you up.”

And while Harry didn’t need the help (there was a ladder!), it was nice to know that Louis was there. The Alpha even tucked Harry in and made sure he was comfortable before climbing back down and tucking himself into the bunk below.

“Goodnight Louis.”

“Goodnight Harold.”

~ LS ~

The next morning, Harry woke up stinking of Louis; and while he didn’t mind he didn’t want anyone suspecting anything, especially the public. So, a long, hot shower rid him of the Alpha’s scent and a large helping of aftershave and deodorant made sure he covered up his new smell (at least until he decided he was ready to tell the public).

Breakfast had been nice with the guys; none of them had even questioned why Harry had covered his scent so heavily, although the way Louis wrinkled his nose every time he got a waft let them all know he wasn’t over the moon with it; still the Alpha was polite enough not to say anything.

They had a long day ahead of them, full of interviews, a soundcheck and a show tonight – no rest for the wicked Harry supposed. Their first stop, however, was Syco headquarters so Harry could have his meeting with Simon before anything else.

That was where Harry found himself, sat on a plush chair, in a very familiar hallway, outside a very familiar room. Niall was sat next to him, but didn’t say a word – leaving Harry to his thoughts. He avoided eye-contact with the few people who passed the, letting Niall greet the few who said hello. Paul was stood a little down the corridor away from the two Omega’s, watching them but talking to a red-headed, Beta secretary.

He was nervous; Niall could tell by the way that Harry kept picking at the skin around his thumbnail and the way that he was chewing on his bottom lip. In just under 10 minutes, he would be walking through the doors of the very familiar room to talk to Simon. The whole meeting was going to basically decide what changes were going to be put into place now that he had presented as an Omega.

Louis had wanted to assist Harry to the meeting, but Harry had declined; he didn’t want the Alpha there. Louis was adamant that someone was going with Harry, and so, before Liam or Zayn could pipe up and say that they would accompany him, Harry had declared that he would like Niall to go with him. Paul would be coming along anyway, no matter who went with Harry, so there was on worries about the two Omega’s going alone.

Eventually, Simon opened the door, and greeted both the boys enthusiastically. He then invited Harry into his office, and Niall wished him good luck as he stood up.

“It’s good to see you Harry,” Simon spoke, offering a seat to the Omega once he had closed the door. “You look well.”

“Thanks,” He mumbled, slumping into the chair opposite Simon’s.

“I’m not going to delay the inevitable Harry, or even sugar coat it, okay? I really don’t think that will help,” Simon spoke, jumping straight into business after a bit of small talk.

“I wouldn’t want you too,” Harry agreed confidently.

“Well, obviously, as you know – I’ve had to inform the management team about your presenting. Just like I explained to you on the phone just before you went into heat.”

“Right,” Harry nodded. He didn’t like the tone of Simon’s voice, whenever he spoke like this it didn’t bode well for whoever was on the receiving end of it.

“And well, because you’re now an Omega, you need an Alpha. That title automatically falls to…”

“No!” Harry whispered harshly, knowing exactly what Simon was going to say, even before he said it.

“I’m sorry Harry; we legally had to inform your father. If we didn’t, a lot of people would have got into a lot of trouble.”

Harry felt his eyes stinging with tears as he hid his face in his hands. He had somehow forgotten about his father during this whole escapade. And now that he had been brought up again, it brought a feeling of fear right to the surface; Harry’s heart was thumping at the mere thought of what the man might do – he’d stop him touring, he’d take him away from his friends and his life! The man would ruin everything for him, and just because of his stupid beliefs.

“He’s here today,” Simon spoke regretfully.

“No!” Harry sobbed, voice muffled by his hands. His father was going to take him away before he even had a chance to say goodbye!

“Harry, listen to me,” And Simon waited until Harry lifted his head and was looking straight at him. And Harry could tell that Simon hated this as much as he did. “He wanted to storm in here today and take you home with him.”

“Simon, please don’t let him!” Harry begged, wriggling to the edge of his seat. He gripped the edge of Simon’s desk, his eyes pleading the older Alpha.

“Now,” Simon continued, still as professional as ever, even if his body language displayed his true feelings. “We managed to convince him not to.”

“You… you did?”

“But there’s a catch…”

Harry waited with bated breath to hear what it was. He was willing to do almost anything to stay as far away from the clutches of his father and all the horrible things he believed an Omega should be subjected to. Simon continued;

“You can stay with the band, if you agree to a relationship with an Alpha of his choice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as you can see, while this story is similar to the original, it's different at the same time. I have skipped over a lot that i covered in the first version; simply because reading it back I wanted the boys to be different; not as cold and commanding. I hope you all like this version as much as I do!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has to tell Louis....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, hiya!! I’M STILL ALIVE!!
> 
> I am so sorry for dissapearing for so, so, so long!! That was never my intention!! Ufortunately real life got in the way, and in the end, I kinda just lost my mojo with writing. I’m going to be honest with you here, it got to the point where I thought I may never pick up the Soul Seires again.
> 
> But I still have so much to give and so when January 1st, 2018 ticked around I decided that my new years resalution would be to start writing again!!
> 
> Updates won’t be as frequent as I would like, as 2018 is due to be a big, big year for me!! But bear with me and you should see a couple of updates come your way.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who have never given up hope and continued to read, leave kudos and comments, and those who asked after me on Tumblr too!! You guys are the bomb, and a huge part of the reason I decided to come back to this!!
> 
> I hope you all had a fantastic new year and wish that you will all join me in this journey, continuing from where we left off!!
> 
> Love you all!!

** Chapter 4 **

Harry and Niall had been gone just over 2 hours. In that time, the other lads had done what they could of the soundcheck, and couldn’t really do much else until they were all together again. So, at the moment, the trio were just waiting around.

The two Alpha’s were talking about their Omega’s (it was still weird to think that the word Omega was now plural) and how much they loved them. Zayn rolled his eyes but joined in when they started cooing over their cute little ways; this was something that even Zayn enjoyed chatting about.

Harry stormed in half way through their conversation.

“Harry!” Louis exclaimed when he spotted him. He sat up to properly greet him. “How did it go?”

The curly haired lad didn’t respond; instead he stomped across the room to his private dressing room and slammed the door shut in all of their faces. The trio looked at each other in confusion when Niall came running in a few seconds after, a little out of breath.

“Harry,” He gasped, stopping when he realised Harry had shut himself away.

“Niall?” Liam questioned, rushing to the aid of his Omega. He guided Niall to sit down in the nearest armchair and grabbed him a glass of cool water. He crouched at his side and encourage him to drink for a few moments.

“I take it the meeting with Simon didn’t go so well,” Zayn commented, casually.

“You could say that,” Niall agreed, taking the glass now he’d caught his breath again. “I don’t know what happened though… he wouldn’t say. Didn’t say a damned word in the car to me either, no matter how much I begged him. The scents coming off him were strong, confusing and worrying!”

Liam and Louis shared a frown, and a worried look. It was never good when Harry kept something so obviously secret from them; there weren’t even really such a thing as secrets between them, because they all lived in each other’s pockets most of the time.

“I’ll see if I can get him to open up,” Louis offered, pushing himself up and heading over to Harry’s dressing room door. He knocked a few times. “Harry? It’s me. Can I come in?”

He didn’t get a response.

“Harry?” He tried again.

There was some quiet scuffing before Louis heard the creak of the door handle. Harry’s head was just visible through the crack.

“Just you?” Harry asked weakly, and Louis could see the tear tracks down the boy’s cheeks,

“Just me,” Louis promised with a comforting nod. He wanted nothing more to comfort the Omega until he was feeling better. He wanted to chase away whatever it was that had upset the Omega this much; no one upset Harry like this and got away with it!

Harry opened the door wide enough so Louis could slip through, and once the door was shut, the Omega threw himself at the Alpha. He sobbed messily and noisily, clutching Louis tightly, almost afraid to let go. Louis didn’t care for the snot and tears that were being rubbed into his shoulder and shirt; he picked Harry up as if he weighed nothing and moved them across to the small two-person sofa in the corner.

“Oh, Harry,” Louis soothed, laying them both down, with the Omega on top of him. He could feel just how close to dropping into Omega-Space Harry was; and that wasn’t great. “What’s wrong love?”

“My…” Harry began before he was lost to the tears again. “My Dad!”

“Your Dad?” Louis questioned. He must admit, he was shocked; he didn’t know what he was expecting, but it hadn’t been that. “What’s wrong with your Dad?”

“Louis!” Harry sobbed, pulling Louis’ shirt into his fist and clutching tight. “I… I… My Dad… He…”

Louis didn’t say anything more, giving Harry the time he needed to say this. He led there patiently, offering up his Alpha pheromones to comfort him, and running his hand through the boy’s hair. His heart broke at not being able to help much more until he at least knew more about the situation. He felt useless.

It took nearly 15 minutes, but eventually Harry’s crying slowed. He was still letting off a heavy distressed, fear scent, which burrowed deep within Louis’ core and made him feel worse, but at least the tears had stopped for now. Harry pushed himself up, and looked anywhere, but Louis’ eyes.

“My dad, Louis,” Harry whispered. “He’s making me mate an Alpha.”

“What?” Louis whispered, frowning. “Harry, are you…” Louis stopped himself. He was going to ask if Harry was being serious, but realise that Harry wouldn’t joke about a think like this. “Are you sure, Harry?”

Harry nodded vigorously. Louis’ felt his heart thumping violently in his chest; he could feel his inner Alpha getting more and more worked up, but he tried to reign that feeling in, not wanting to push Harry away with his horrid anger scent. He desperately needed Harry to be lying, or for Harry to tell him that they worked something out.

“If I don’t,” Harry choked, trying to keep down the fresh batch of tears that were building. “If I don’t mate with an Alpha of his choice, he’ll… he’ll drag me home… today.”

Louis blanched and hurried to sit up.

“Harry, no!” His arms flew around the Omega and he struggled to stop his Alpha from breaking out. He was suddenly feeling really possessive and did not want to let Harry out of his arms. He wanted to, needed to, push Harry underneath him and put his mark on him so it was clear to everyone who came within a 20-ft radius that Harry was his! No body else was going to touch this Omega, not unless he said so!

“Louis,” Harry whispered, and Louis could hear the fresh tears that were starting.

Louis said nothing, just held the Omega to him tighter, promising himself that he was never going to let go.

He was so angry at Harry’s father right now! He had no right to just dictate who Harry could and couldn’t mate! That was old Omega practice, but it wasn’t a banned one; it was every once in a blue moon that you heard of an Omega in an arranged mating. Just the thought of them made Louis feel physically sick.

“Louis, please don’t me mad,” Harry sobbed, the Alpha’s scent strong and overpowering his own.

Louis startled at the words. He hadn’t realised the anger scent leaving him, and suddenly felt remorse, as his scent was probably only making Harry feel worse about the situation.

“How long?” Louis asked, saying nothing more; feeling like he could say nothing more, worried that if he did it would give his teeth a chance to elongate. He didn’t need to elaborate on the question, Harry knew what he meant.

“My Dad is picking me up after the show tonight,” Harry gulped. The tears were still falling thick and fast, but he seemed to have a better hold of himself now. He still clutched Louis’ shirt in his fist, and had his head tucked up under Louis’ chin, as if he fit there perfectly, and he did.

“Tonight?” Louis whispered, a little too harshly.

“Yeah,” Harry’s voice cracked again. “Next time you’ll see me, I’ll be mated.”

Louis lost it. He claws grew, his teeth popped out and his eyes turned red as he couldn’t keep a hold of his Alpha any longer.

-X-

Liam, Niall and Zayn jumped when the door to Harry’s dressing room slammed open.

A half-turned Alpha stormed out, stinking of anger, frustration and possessiveness.

Liam stood on instinct, preparing to fight if need be; although, deep down he knew that there was probably no need to, seeing a fellow Alpha like that sometimes drove your primal instincts into place.

“Louis?” Liam asked, cautiously.

Louis looked them all over one-by-one, as if sizing them up. But he recognised them all as pack, and seemed to relax somewhat.

“I… I can’t,” Louis growled out. It was obvious he was struggling to actually get the words out, he was closer to turning that everyone had first thought. “I… might… hurt… Harry.”

“It’s okay,” Liam reassured. “We’ve got him.”

Louis nodded in thanks, and hurried out the door.

“I’m with Louis!” Zayn exclaimed, chasing after the nearly turned Alpha at the same time Niall entered Harry’s dressing room.

Zayn stumbled across Louis outside the back of the arena. Standing next to the tour bus was Louis’ chocolate coloured, fluffy Alpha. He was seething and the anger scent was still rolling off of him in waves.

“Louis,” Zayn called, grabbing the wolf’s attention. “Alpha,” He addressed the wolf correctly. “Let me run with you.”

The wolf nodded once, turned towards the trees that shadowed the arena. The wolf leapt into the air, paws pushing against the gravel to reach the trees. Within seconds, Zayn was on 4 legs, chasing after him.

They ran for what was nearly 40 minutes. Zayn did nothing but follow behind the Alpha as he weaved in and out of the trees and jumping over tree stumps. The trees didn’t go on forever, and they circled around to head back to the tour bus.

“What happened, Lou?” Zayn asked softly when Louis shifted and led the way onto the bus. He was still stinking of anger, but less so and he did seem more relaxed than before.

“Harry,” Louis explained, saying nothing more as he walked down to his bunk and grabbed a spare change of clothes that lived there for instances such as this.

“You found out what happened in that meeting then?” Zayn guessed, grabbing his own tracksuit bottoms from his own bunk.

Louis growled loud and long at the mere thought of it, and Zayn struggled to think what could have happened during the meeting to make even Louis act like this.

“What happened Louis?”

“Harry’s Dad,” Louis seethed. “He’s making Harry mate.”

“What?!” Zayn exclaimed in shock. He sat himself down on the edge of the sofa. “Please tell me you’re lying Louis!”

“Do you think I’m fucking lying?!” Louis cried angrily, pacing back and forth in front of Zayn. “Harry has to mate with a complete stranger, _tonight_ , or he has to give everything up!”

“No,” Zayn shook his head. He was feeling anger as well, but still wasn’t as wound up as Louis was. “No, this can’t be happening!”

“That’s my mate!” Louis seethed. “My true mate!”

Zayn snapped his head up at the Alpha, trying to work out whether he’d heard right. It appeared as if Louis wasn’t aware of what he was saying. He kept repeating it, over and over again, pulling at his hair and speaking the words through gritted teeth.

“What?” Zayn asked quietly. “Louis, what?”

Louis stopped pacing, let his hands full back to his sides.

“What did you just say?”

“About what?” Louis sighed.

“About Harry being your mate.”

Louis froze. His cheeks heated up and his eyes grew wide. It was clear that he hadn’t meant to let that bit slip.

“Louis, is Harry your true mate?”

Zayn had, had a feeling, but not all the signs had been there so every time he had thought about it, he had declined it – thinking in not true.

Louis was clearly thinking a mile a minute as he stumbled over his own feet as he made his way to sit next to Zayn.

“Yes,” He whispered. Suddenly, Louis wasn’t stinking out the tour bus with his anger scent; instead a mixture of shame and proud. “He is.”

Zayn nodded slowly, not saying anything for a minute. He was trying to work it all out; he had nothing against it at all, but it was strange. Neither Harry or Louis had gone into the mating rut or heat that accompanied meeting your true mate.

“How?” Zayn asked quietly.

“We met during our very first auditions of the X-factors,” Louis started softly. “ _Before_ boot-camp.”

“Yeah,” Zayn nodded because this was something they all knew.

“I uh… watched Harry’s audition, only be sheer chance and coincidence. I was already presented, but I knew this scrawny, curly haired boy wasn’t. Watching him on the stage I realised that I had a strong connection with him, just I wasn’t sure how strong. And then we stumbled into each other again in the bathroom… literally bumped into each other.”

Louis paused to fill his lungs. He licked his lips before continuing.

“As soon as we touched I knew…” Louis shook his head, a small smile forming at the memory. “I started to heat up, I could feel my rut building, slowly at first. I mean, you know the rest of the story – I asked him for his autograph and all that. I went home and went into the most intense rut I’ve ever experienced.”

“Oh gosh Louis,” Zayn hushed, taking it all in. He knew as soon as he had said this that Louis had taken this the wrong way, especially when the shame scent grew stronger. Zayn had only meant it in a ‘this-is-a-lot-to-take-in’ way. He didn’t want Louis to think though that he meant it in any other way and hurried to correct himself.

“I mean, congratulations man,” And he made sure to mean this with all his being, which he did. Finding your true mate was no small feat, not even Liam and Niall were true mates! It wasn’t something that happened every day, and certainly not now; some people made it their life mission to find their true mates, and travelled the world to do so. But it was almost unheard of now as people just chose to settle down with a mate of their choice.

And Louis’ behaviour over everything involving Harry, suddenly made sense. The tenderness, the possessiveness, the gentle touching, even the almost over-exaggerated anger. And the way the two were with each other from the get-go. They’d always been close and were always touching when they could; they fit together like two puzzle pieces that were meant to be.

“No, seriously, congratulations,” Zayn repeated. Louis’ shame dimmed and pride started to overpower now. “I mean it, it’s just a lot to take in. But have… I mean… does; does Harry know?”

Louis looked up, tears stinging in his eyes. Another scent washed off of him, a stark, bitter sadness.

“No,” Louis shook. “I don’t think he does.”


End file.
